It seems like everyone I know that's leaving home has started a blog, so that their friends and family can keep up with them. Well, I've always liked to follow the crowd, so here goes. The blog has existed for a long time, but I never really felt like I had much to say. Hopefully, now I will.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Driving in Germany

This month, the task at hand for me is to learn how to pass a German written driving test. Of course, I'm also learning what all the signs all over the place actually mean, how cars really work, and more about Hashish than I ever expected. You'll see. So I've got sixty of these worksheets, I guess I'd call them, which are actually just example tests. Each one has 30 questions, and if I earn more than ten points (by getting questions wrong) then I fail that test. Also, getting two 5-point questions wrong means you fail too, because the wrong decision in the real world application of those questions could actually be quite dangerous. So, with no further ado, I give to you a random quiz sheet. Don't worry, it's in English. I'm really looking forward to the comments on this one.

Hints for those of us not raised in England:

1. To reckon with something means, as near as I can figure, to consider.2. Dipped headlights are your dims, the ones that don't dazzle people.

Wow... In Arizona, someone could get a permit after getting 7 questions on the exam wrong (most of which were really easy and didn't involve pictures). That is equivalent to at least 20 points on this exam, double the number you can get wrong in Germany... I guess this is why they have an Autobahn and we don't...

Well, to be fair, this also allows me to drive anywhere in Europe for the rest of my life, unhindered. And some of these questions are ridiculously easy. I refer to the one which asks whether Hashish reduces effect of "dazzle" while driving, for example.

Yea, that's exactly how it works. Like the one about saving fuel: you have to know not to drive in the lowest gear available, not use the "kick down" facility, and in no case attempt to drive in gear "P" even if possible.